Fire That Burns Bright
by jazzmeister
Summary: Machine Robo Rescue Fanfic. Sorry for the sucky title. Full summary inside.


Summary: After their rescue mission in episode 37 (I think...) Fire is troubled by the battle and Ace notices this. Can Ace help his partner out?

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the stuff written here about Machine Robo Rescue

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Honoh "Ace" Arias laid on his bed with his arms crossed behind his head. He stared at the ceiling while listening to the relative silence, with the soft whirring of his ceiling fan and semi-loud snoring of his neighbor, Taiyoh. The blonde looked to his side where his clock sat on his desk before continuing his gaze at the ceiling. It was well around one o'clock in the morning. "Fire Robo…" Ace sighed.

* * *

[Flashback]

The Red Wings team, Ricky, a boy from the passenger plane they just helped, and Red Wings machine robos, Sky Robos excluded, were all standing outside the Wing Liner. The plane crashed in the Amazon jungle and everyone who survived the crash were taken to the nearest hospital. The fire caused by Black Hyper Fire Robo was extinguished.

"Rescue completed, sir!" Rin said through the K-boy she held, obviously talking to their adviser, Instructor Musashi Miyajima. "We found the boy from the plane crash."

"Good job everyone. What is his condition?" Miyajima asked.

Ace, also having his K-Boy out, reported. "He's fine, sir. A little scoffed up but he's fine altogether."

Miyajima nodded. "Alright. We just received word from the hospital. His father is now stabilized and resting. Get the boy there."

"Roger!" Ace, Taiyoh, Rin and Kai answered with salutes. With that, Miyajima cuts the transmission.

"Man, that was a close one, huh?" Taiyoh commented. He had a wide grin and his arms were crossed behind his head as he looked at his teammates.

Kai chuckled. "It sure was. You should be thankful that we destroyed the Communications Jammer on time."

"Yeah, if it wasn't for us, who knows what might have happened to you and Fire Robo." Rin playfully scolded and glared at the two Robo Masters.

The survival natural then returned the glare to Rin. "Thanks but you were really cutting it close!" Taiyoh cried. Jet Robo laughed at his master's reaction while he helped the Aider Robos, after separating from Fire Robo, into the Wing Liner.

Ace laughed softly before separating the two arguing Red Wings. "Well, nonetheless, thanks to you, Fire Robo is safe," Ace then turned to the said mech. "Right, Fire-?" He was cut in the middle of what he said when he saw that the fire engine mech was silent. Fire had his arms crossed over his chest and was looking down on the ground. Even if the Machine Robos can't change their facial expressions, as a Robo Master, Ace knew something was wrong.

Fire Robo remained silent as he just stood there, thinking. He didn't realize about their departure until a felt a hand on his left leg. The fire engine looked down and saw Ace touching his leg with his right hand and staring into his blue optics. **O-Oh Ace! Is there something wrong?** Fire Robo asked in a strange surprised voice.

"I could ask you the same question, big guy." Ace replied. "Something bothering you?"

Fire Robo shook his head. **I-It's nothing. Let's go**. Fire Robo walked towards the front of the Wing Liner. He mumbled a soft 'Mode Change' command before transforming to his vehicle mode and entered the bullet train. All the while Ace was staring at him.

Everyone entered the bullet train except for Jet Robo. The Wing Liner and Jet Robo rose from the forest and headed their way to the hospital where Ricky's father was resting. After that, they returned to MRR base to file their report and support the Blue Sirens and Yellow Gears on their sudden emergency.

[End of Flashback]

* * *

'That was weird of Fire Robo.' Ace thought. 'He usually is calm but today…' Feeling uneasy, he rose up from his bed, put on some socks and shoes, and went outside. The blond made sure he was silent to not awaken any of his friends. It wasn't that cold out and he wore a white shirt and grey sweatpants. The full moon shone brightly in the night sky, bathing everything in a serene glow. He headed straight for the Machine Robo hangar to confront the one in his thoughts.

A short while after he came out of the dormitory, he ran into his three instructors: Instructor Miyajima, Instructor Bitoh of Yellow Gears and Instructor Sasaki of the Blue Sirens. The three were all wearing casual.

"Ace, what are you doing out of bed?" Instructor Bitoh asked.

"Instructors, what are you doing here!?" Ace shrieked to the highest volume that would not wake anyone in the dormitory.

Sasaki stepped forward, eyeing Ace suspiciously. "We were going to inspect how everyone was doing. You still haven't answered our question yet."

"U-Ummm… Well… You see… I couldn't s-sleep and I just wanted to go for a walk." The blond answered nervously.

They all knew that that reason was a lie. "Fine, but you better go to bed early. You still have some duties tomorrow." Miyajima said sternly. With a salute, Ace continued his way to the hangar. The three instructors watched him go into the distance.

"Are you sure it's okay for him to talk to the Machine Robos?" Bitoh asked to Miyajima.

The Red Winds officer closed his eyes as if to think things through before he nodded. "He is a Robo Master and no one else could understand the Machine Robos better than the Robo Masters."

Ace made his way to the hangar for the Leader Robos. The huge door for the mechs was open in the case they wanted to move about the base. The Red Wings member peeked inside and saw all of the Leader Robos standing side by side… Well, all except one. He lights inside were off but he could still see very well from the light of the moon.

In order from left to right, Submarine, Drill, Gyro, Police and Jet stood on their usual spots when they are on standby. Fire was nowhere to be seen. Ace stared at his Machine Robo's spot that he didn't notice Jet Robo staring at him. **Ace? **Jet asked. The blond jumped at the other Red Wings mech spoke, exposing himself to the others. The Yellow Gears and Blue Sirens mechs looked towards the boy. **What are you doing here and at this time? **Jet continued.

"Oh uh… I was just taking a stroll… Can't sleep…" Ace fidgeted as he stood there being looked at by the Leader Robos. He looked inside the hangar to try to find his partner. "Hey… Where's Fire?"

The five mechs looked at each other before they looked at the Robo Master and Gyro spoke. **He said he wanted to go out for a while for some fresh air. **The Gyro Jet stated before laughing lightly. **You two really are synchronized if this happened.**

Ace stayed silent for a while before he spoke. "Do you guys know where he could have gone?"

**I usually find him by the beach, if that helps. **Submarine Robo suggested.

"Thanks…" Ace said softly but with not soft enough to be missed by the Leader Robos' cybernetic hearing. The Red Wing member turned to go to the beach area.

Police Robo sneaked to the hangar door and peeked out to see if Ace was still there. He found no one. He then turned to look at the other mechs. **Do you think it is a good idea for Ace to approach Fire at this time? **Police enquired worriedly.

**I am sure he will be fine.** Jet answered.

Gyro turned his head to look at Jet. **But you know how he reacted when we asked him about what happened earlier.

* * *

**

[Flashback]

After the Wing Liner docked in MRR Base, the Red Wings all headed up to the Command Center to direct the Blue Sirens and Yellow Gears on their emergency situation. The Aider Robos were being returned to their hangar via the revolving platform. Jet and Fire decided to walk back towards the hangar on their own two feet.

The two remained silent for the whole trek. Jet took occasional glances at his teammate and noticed that the fire engine kept staring down. Being on the same team for a while, Jet knew better to disturb his friend when in this state.

Once the two Red Wings mechs entered their hangar, they were greeted by the Blue Sirens and Yellow Gears mechs. Jet was the first to enter so he was the first one to be bombarded by the others' questions. Fire, on the other hand, continued his way to his usual standby post.

Drill noticed that Fire was just standing there on his spot and decided to go to the latter for some information about the mission. **Hey Fire! How was the mission?** Drill asked in his usual jovial voice.

**Fine…** Fire muttered.

**Did everyone got to the hospital alright? **All Drill got was a small nod. This continued for a couple of minutes with Drill, who asked for anything and everything about the mission, and Fire, who just replied to the shortest answer possible. Jet noticed the two isolated mechs and, even with their constant faceplate, Jet knew that the fire engine was becoming more and more annoyed.

Everything was going so well until Drill started to talk about the thing Fire didn't want to hear. **Man, you really got the Black Hyper Fire Robo, huh? No one can beat us! Even his Black Aider Robos are-.**

**Can we just change the subject!? **Fire interrupted while glaring at the drill tank. Fire's outburst surprised everyone in the hangar, especially Jet. The fire engine was usually calm and patient but this was a new one.

**Hey, calm down Fire. **Drill said with his hands up for defense. **I just wanted to know everything about the mission. There's nothing wrong with that.**

**Then ask Jet or the kids! Just-! **Fire sighed and rubbed his nose bridge. **Just leave me alone for a while, okay? Please… **Fire pleaded in a gentler tone.

The Blue Sirens and Yellow Gears mechs looked at each other then to Jet Robo, who just shook his head. Drill just dismissed the idea of asking Fire anymore question. Jet called the other Leader Robos out to explain what happened.

[End of Flashback]

* * *

**I've never seen Fire act like that before. **Drill then slouched and looked at his feet. **I wish I never brought that subject up in the first place.**

**No, it is my fault. **Jet spoke sadly. **I did not warn you about what happened. If I had, this could have been avoided.**

**If it's anyone's fault, it's Black Fire Robo's fault! **Submarine exclaimed.

Police Robo sighed tiredly. **Well, there's no point in blaming any body right now. **Police started to walk back to his standby spot. **I'm sure by now, those Disaster people have already made a new set of support units for Black Fire already.**

**Let's just hope that Ace will be able to calm Fire down. **Gyro uttered before they went back into standby mode.

The blond Robo Master made his way to the coastline area of the MRR Base. The wind blowing from the sea was gentle but cold. Ace shivered a little but continued on his way to look for his partner.

Nearly at the end of the beach, Ace finally finds Fire Robo, sitting on the sand and staring out into the horizon. Fire Robo was sitting cross-legged, his body was slouched and his head was propped up by his right hand. The boy walked up to the fire engine and stopped about a couple of feet from the right side of the bot. Ace was surprised Fire didn't notice him. He took in a huge breath then breathed out before speaking. "Hey Fire."

The mech jumped at the sudden sound and looked to his side and saw his Robo Master standing next to him. He calmed down then continued his stare on the horizon. **Hello Ace… **Fire murmured.

"Is there something wrong?"

**Just have a lot of things in my mind, that is all…**

Ace put his hand on Fire's right leg, stroking it comfortingly. The fire engine looked towards the boy. "Want to talk about it?"

Fire stared at his Robo Master for a while before sitting up straight and stared out into space once more. The two was silent until Fire spoke. **I was just thinking about the battle earlier. **Fire explained. **I feel really sad… Whenever I remember how Black Fire Robo used his Black Aider Robos as scapegoats.**

The Red Wings Robo Master remembered the event well. While Fire was fighting in the zone he created, Ace watched everything unfold from his K-Boy.

Hyper Fire and Black Hyper Fire were at it at full force. They attacked each other with everything in their arsenal. It came down to the last power struggle between Hyper Fire's Water Cannons and Black Hyper Fire's Flamethrowers. The two bursts looked like it was evenly matched but adding the elemental advantage, the flame was being pushed back by the water. Before the water reached Black Hyper Fire, he detached to his normal form and four Black Aider Robos. The black ambulance units took the attack head on, destroying them in the process which gave Black Fire time to escape.

"I can't quite wrap my head around it either." Ace commented.

Fire brought his knees up to his chest and embraced them. Something he picked up from the children when they feel distraught. **It made me think… What would I do if the girls were destroyed… I've lost them before and I don't think I'll be able to go through that again. **The fire engine then chuckled slightly. **I know it must sound strange. I mean, we are just mechanical beings. If any of us were destroyed, the AI Laboratory could just make a new unit but…**

"Don't say that!" The blond shrieked.

**But it is true. Once more, with the data that they could just copy from our processors, the new units would act just like we do. **Fire explained.

Ace covered his ears with his hands and shut his eyes tight. "No! That won't happen! That's not true!" Ace then turned to look at Fire angrily. "How can you say that so nonchalantly!? Won't you have any regrets if you were destroyed!?" The blond cried. The mech stayed in silence but curled into a tighter ball as the words of his partner bore down into his core.

Fire took a small peek at Ace and saw tears forming in his eyes. The latter looked down to the ground and shut his eyes; tears falling on the sand below him. "I can't believe you could say something like that so calmly and in front of your partner." The boy looked up at Fire; eyes red and tears rolled down his face. "Did you even think how we would feel if that happened!? Even if they replaced you with someone exactly alike, I am still bound to you and not some copy that just rolled of the assembly line!" The two stood there in silence before Ace raised his right hand to wipe the tears away from his eyes.

"The day you die is the day I leave Machine Robo Rescue…" Ace uttered.

Fire raised his head in shock and stared at his master. **Ace, you can't! **Fire yelped.

"I can…" The boy started. "If I were to let you, or any of the fire team, get destroyed, then that would mean that I am unfit to be your Robo Master and I won't be able to forgive myself for that event."

**But you are fit to be a Robo Master! My Robo Master! **Fire rebutted.

"Still, if that were to happen, we can't be sure that Chief Bitoh won't dismiss me from service for that."

Fire stood up and stared at his partner. **Then I shall try not to get destroyed. Besides, with you as my Robo Master, and the help from our friends, there is nothing we cannot do. **The fire engine said with confidence.

Ace laughed silently before wiping his tears away, nodded and smiled at Fire. "Funny how I came here to cheer you up but now, it looks like we both solved what's bugging us." Both laughed for a while before they turned to the horizon where the sun was starting to shine.

**Looks like it is going to be a beautiful morning. **Fire commented while doing some stretches.

Ace was about to add something but he was cut off by the sound of the base's alarm.

ATTENTION!! ATTENTION!! A FIRE HAS STARTED!! IMMEDIATE DEPLOYMENT OF RED WINGS IS REQUIRED!!

The digital recording repeated the warning thrice before only the sound of the alarm ringing throughout the base was heard.

"Looks like you spoke too soon." Ace mused.

Fire turned to the boy. **Well then, better not keep them waiting. Let's go and work hard for everyone, Ace.**

"Right!"

With that, the two rushed off to join their teammates in their mission with a bright smile and outlook towards the future. One of the two working together happily through the years.

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Sorry if I disappointed anyone with this.

I tried really hard to make this work.

Please review. Constructive criticism is very much welcomed.


End file.
